Illinois residents hoping to see the Northern Lights this week could have a golden opportunity as the Space Weather Prediction Center issued a “very rare” G4-class geomagnetic storm watch.
According to officials, a “coronal mass ejection” is expected to impact Earth in coming days. The impact could be strong enough to make the Northern Lights visible as far south as Alabama and northern California, according to the alert.
The strength of the CME’s is similar to a storm that impacted Earth in May, which brought the Northern Lights far into the southern United States and allowed millions of Americans to see the incredible spectacle.
The bulk of the particles are expected to impact Earth on Thursday and Friday, and could result in another spectacular display.
The Northern Lights are enhanced when coronal mass ejections, or CME’s, erupt from the sun and speed across space before hitting Earth’s atmosphere. According to the SWPC, CME’s are “large explosions of plasma and magnetized particles from the Sun’s corona.” Those ejections expand in size as they approach Earth’s atmosphere, and can cause geomagnetic storms when the arrive.
The Northern Lights occur when those charged particles hit Earth’s magnetic field, interacting with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere and producing brilliant and wavy colors in the sky.
Local
The Northern Lights are generally visible only at higher latitudes, but instances like this week’s geomagnetic storm can cause those particles to be visible across greater distances.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
